


Uncovering History

by Cybra



Series: Inheritance AU [3]
Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family, Friendship, Gen, seeming major character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 13:59:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14137467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cybra/pseuds/Cybra
Summary: (Re-posted from original post on tumblr.)  Huey, Dewey, and Louie are bored at the very prestigious Grey Academy in Duckburg.  However, that all changes during a lecture on the history of Duckburg when the weird scholarship student, Webby Vanderquack, brings up their Great-Uncle Scrooge McDuck's part in it, the boys getting the first hint that the person behind the name they only periodically heard in passing was much more than some stodgy old business mogul.





	Uncovering History

**Author's Note:**

> As much as I’d love to get into the meat and potatoes, some stuff has to be filled in first. Now I know how Don Rosa felt when he wanted to jump straight to the Klondike chapter in _Life and Times_.
> 
> **Disclaimer:** _Ducktales_ belongs to the Walt Disney Company.

The Grey Academy of Duckburg was beyond a doubt the most pricey and illustrious private school in Calisota.  That came as no surprise since, in many ways, it was the center of commerce for that particular area of the country.  Many had come, made their fortunes, and started families in Duckburg.  Where else were the children of these wealthy men and women supposed to be educated and prepared for successful lives of their own?

Huey liked to learn, but he wasn’t particularly fond of Grey Academy.

It was a sentiment (the dislike of the school, not the joy of learning) that was shared by his two younger brothers.  It was the primary reason why the triplets were typically separated as much as possible since they would get into all sorts of trouble at the earliest opportunity presented to them.  This year they were in many of the same classes but their teachers had their desks spread out as much as possible to try and reduce this tendency.  History was the only class where Huey could see both of his brothers out of the corner of his eye.

Which was why he could tell they were just as bored as he was by the day’s lecture.

Today they were studying the history of Duckburg.  Huey was glad he’d read up on the lesson the night before so he could at least pretend he was paying attention when he was called on by Mrs. Andreas.

“Huey, what was the name of the man who took over Fort Drake Borough after the British left?”

“Cornelius Coot,” he replied dutifully. “He renamed it ‘Fort Duckburg’ afterwards.”

“Correct.  Keep in mind that at the time, ‘Duckburg’ primarily referred to the fort which was located on Killmotor Hill…though it was known back then as ‘Killmule Hill’.  Cornelius Coot’s descendant Casey Coot sold it during the Klondike Gold Rush to a fellow, much more successful prospector.  _Yes,_ Webby, I see you.”  The teacher gave a long-suffering sigh, face screwed up as if she were dreading what was about to happen.  “You had something to add?”

Huey turned his head to see Webby Vanderquack waving her hand enthusiastically, only now starting to lower it since she’d been called on.  Webby was a…well…an odd duck.  According to rumors, she was here due to a special scholarship that paid her full tuition and for her uniforms.  Nobody had tried bullying her since her first day of first grade when she flipped a much bigger kid who’d attempted to steal her backpack.  Of course, this also meant nobody really wanted to approach her in case they made her upset.

“The prospector was Scrooge McDuck!” she blurted out, eyes alight with enthusiasm.  Apparently this was a topic that she relished. “The deed also covered most of the land around the fort, and he started building and investing in local businesses which drew more people to the city which sort of adopted the name of the fort as its own!  Especially after he had the fort torn down so he could build his mansion!”

It took a moment for the name to register, Huey sitting up straighter in surprise.  The last name alone was far from unfamiliar.  He and his brothers were, after all, future heirs to McDuck Enterprises which still owned about ninety percent of Duckburg.  However, the name “Scrooge McDuck” wasn’t one the family discussed at all.  The boys’ mother and their Uncle Donald refused to say anything more than what was absolutely necessary:

He was the boys’ great-uncle, had immigrated from Scotland, and had started McDuck Enterprises.  That was it.

“Yes, Webby, Scrooge McDuck was instrumental in Duckburg’s growth—”

“‘Instrumental’?  Ha!”  Webby’s face was the very definition of incredulity.  “He made Duckburg New York City’s biggest rival!  Heck, he _conquered_ Wall Street!  And that’s only _after_ he became rich!  He was the original adventure capitalist!”  The girl started reaching into her backpack.  “I brought some stuff on his time in the Klondike where he met Casey Coot if you want to see it!”

Huey had shot glances at his brothers during all of this.  Louie had leaned forward eagerly at the girl’s description of the man’s business acumen.  Dewey had considerably brightened at the word “adventure”.  The eldest triplet found himself fascinated in general by all these mere hints of the relative they’d never known…and wondering why his mother and uncle were doing their best to erase him from the family’s memory.

“That’s enough, Webby,” Mrs. Andreas said sharply. “Now, moving on…”

As the class moved on to less interesting topics regarding the founding of Duckburg, Huey caught his brothers’ eyes and tipped his head towards a dejected Webby.  Dewey shot him a thumbs-up while Louie grinned and nodded.

* * *

 

“Hey, uh, Webby?”

She looked up from the sandwich her grandmother had packed her, blinking up at the great-nephews of Scrooge McDuck himself.  She straightened up in her seat, trying and miserably failing to disguise her excitement.  “Hi!”  Then she grinned self-consciously.  “Wait.  You wanted to eat here, didn’t you?  I mean, you guys usually eat two tables over by yourselves, but you can mix it up from time-to-time, I guess.  I’ll just move…”

“Whoa, we’re not chasing you off.”  Despite the identical uniforms, Dewey was the easiest one to identify.  (He was the only one who sported a cowlick.)  He balanced his tray in one hand as he held up the other in a placating gesture.  “We wanted to sit with you.  That okay?”

Louie leaned closer to Huey, muttering at a volume he likely thought she couldn’t hear, “Are we just gonna ignore that she knows where we usually sit?”

Huey lightly elbowed his little brother, giving Webby a cheerful smile.  “We know it’s kinda sudden, so if you’re waiting for your friends, we can meet up with you later.”

“No!”  Webby flailed her hands, half-rising from her seat.  “I mean, I wasn’t waiting for anybody, so you can sit down!”

“Thanks!”

The trio set their trays down, Huey sitting beside her and his two brothers across from them.  A few kids turned to look in confusion but they seemed to swiftly lose interest when nothing interesting happened.

“You said during class that you had some stuff on Great-Uncle Scrooge’s time in the Klondike?” Louie asked casually.

“Uh huh!” she answered. “It’s in my locker though.  I didn’t want to get any of it messed up.  I mean, yeah, they’re not original copies of the articles or anything, but some of the stuff I photocopied is super old and it might start fading if I did it too many times.  It really needs to be scanned.”  She took another bite of her sandwich, chewing and swallowing so fast that she nearly choked.  Coughing to clear her throat, she continued, “To be honest, I only brought the stuff that directly related to when he knew Casey Coot.  I figured I could bring more regarding the founding of Duckburg tomorrow if Mrs. Andreas allowed me to.”  She slumped.  “But that’s probably not gonna happen.”

“Her loss.”  Louie shrugged his shoulders.  “Do you mind if _we_ take a look at what you brought?”

She brightened at that.  “Sure!  Though I know this stuff’s probably old hat to you guys by now: hearing stories about your amazing great-uncle and all.”

The triplets looked distinctly uncomfortable.

Webby looked between them, pointing to each in turn.  “Wait.  You mean you guys _haven’t_ heard the stories?”

“Until today, we didn’t even know he used to be a prospector,” Huey admitted.

“What?!”  The young girl was outraged.  “What about the Birdman of Wall Street?  Or the King of the Klondike?  The Terror of the Transvaal?  Maybe the Raider of the Copper Hill or the Buckaroo of the Badlands?”

“Don’t know who they are, but they sound _awesome!”_ Dewey chirped.

“‘They’ nothing!  They’re _all_ your Great-Uncle Scrooge!”

The trio all stared, periodically blinking.

Webby’s jaw dropped.  “You guys really _don’t_ know anything, do you?”

“Mom and Uncle Donald don’t talk about him.  They don’t even have pictures,” Huey explained awkwardly.

Mind made up, Webby retrieved her cellphone from her pocket, holding it up to them so they could see the image on her lock screen.  “I took a picture of my favorite painting and made it my phone background.”  She pointed to the drake fighting the pirate captain, his smile wide as he clearly enjoyed the duel.  “That’s him.  _That’s_ Scrooge McDuck.”

However their eyes were focused elsewhere in the picture, faces almost disbelieving.

“No way,” Huey breathed.

“Uncle Donald?” Louie asked.

Dewey’s voice was especially shocked.  “Mom?!”


End file.
